Reopen medical colleges to resume offline classes, proposes Maha Deputy CM Pawar

While pointing out that thousands of doctors pass out from these colleges each year, Ajit Pawar stated that resuming offline classes at medical colleges is essential to ensure that the state will possess a sufficient number of doctors to address any probable health crisis that might emerge in the future.

After attending the weekly Covid review meeting at the divisional commissioner office, Pawar told

Hindustan Times, " On the state level, we are thinking of restarting the classes in medical colleges if students and staff are fully vaccinated. Every year thousands of doctors pass out from these institutions. If medical colleges remain closed then this will get hampered. It would cause a scarcity of doctors. I will suggest this to the CM and medical education minister. As a precautionary measure, the students and the staff can be tested after 10-15 days of classes."

Dr. Prashant Munde, advisor to MARD has already suggested to the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) wing in BJ Medical college Pune that classes can resume on campus. "The offline classes with fully vaccinated students and the staff can be resumed. Undergraduate and Postgraduate medical students can be benefitted. Also, by resuming the academic activities, the administration will get doctors. According to me, even the NEET should not have been postponed," said Dr. Munde, advisor to MARD.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister of the State, Pinarayi Vijayan clarified that the medical colleges in the State were going to reopen from July 1. This decision on the part of the Government had been taken as the medical students in the State have been duly vaccinated against the Covid-19.